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Florida rising junior forward Me'Arah O'Neal, the daughter of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, announced her intentions to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday.
O'Neal averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks over 33 starts in 2026-26 with the Gators. She shot 52.9% from the field and 38.1% from the 3-point range. O'Neal is the 10th Gator to leave the program following a head coaching change from Kelly Rae Finley to Tammi Reiss.
She was viewed as one of the stars of the team, alongside top scorer Liv McGill, who committed to Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
"The challenge, number one, our retention, the commitment, how many kids you're returning, obviously, the construction of your team, and then the portal. Finding the right pieces in the portal," Reiss said in her introductory press conference.
"Number one is culture. You never sacrifice culture to win. Culture, and then being able to assemble those pieces to the style of play you want to play. So really trying to get the right pieces to play the way you want to play and be extremely competitive."
Losing McGill and O'Neal are significant blows to a program that looks to be entering a rebuilding era. However, the transfer portal has made rebuilding significantly easier, with teams sometimes turning things around within a year.
"I want to be really competitive that first year, "she said. "We want to go to the postseason. That's the goal. But roster construction is the key."
Florida added Butler forward Mallor Miller on Monday.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida women's basketball F Me'Arah O'Neal to enter transfer portal
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O'Neal averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks over 33 starts in 2026-26 with the Gators. She shot 52.9% from the field and 38.1% from the 3-point range. O'Neal is the 10th Gator to leave the program following a head coaching change from Kelly Rae Finley to Tammi Reiss.
She was viewed as one of the stars of the team, alongside top scorer Liv McGill, who committed to Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
"The challenge, number one, our retention, the commitment, how many kids you're returning, obviously, the construction of your team, and then the portal. Finding the right pieces in the portal," Reiss said in her introductory press conference.
"Number one is culture. You never sacrifice culture to win. Culture, and then being able to assemble those pieces to the style of play you want to play. So really trying to get the right pieces to play the way you want to play and be extremely competitive."
Losing McGill and O'Neal are significant blows to a program that looks to be entering a rebuilding era. However, the transfer portal has made rebuilding significantly easier, with teams sometimes turning things around within a year.
"I want to be really competitive that first year, "she said. "We want to go to the postseason. That's the goal. But roster construction is the key."
Florida added Butler forward Mallor Miller on Monday.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida women's basketball F Me'Arah O'Neal to enter transfer portal
Continue reading...
